


Centrum Capsules

by jbmae17



Category: British Actor RPF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-26
Updated: 2019-07-26
Packaged: 2020-07-20 00:16:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19982917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jbmae17/pseuds/jbmae17
Summary: Just a collection of "How? Why? What?" that I thought of once I saw that vitamin commercial.





	Centrum Capsules

**The Reminder**

"A year sounds scarier than it is," she had assured him. "I'll be busy, you'll be busy. The time will fly by."

"Two months", he replied. "It's only two months until the shoot in Australia and we'll find a way to meet in the middle. Have you been to Singapore?"

"No, I haven't been anywhere. That's why I'm taking this job in China. I need to see more, be more, know more."

It took all of two weeks for those best-laid plans to go awry. One hitch in the paperwork felled the first domino and before long, the entire project fell through.

"It's fine," he assured her. "I still have the flight booked. We'll find a way. Before you know it, you'll wake up and I'll be making you breakfast."

When the first offer came, he refused it. His word was all he had. The timing was wrong. Another opportunity would reveal itself.

"Go ahead," she had said with a yawn. "I can't see myself getting away after all. I'm filling in for a colleague with the flu and I couldn't ask for leave as well."

"Are you sure?" he asked, checking the display for the hint of a lie. It wouldn't be the first time she had invented some situation that magically made his decisions easier. 

She tilted the camera to show a stack of papers beside her. "Very sure. Now you go on that stage like I'm sitting in the back row. I'll be right there, you just can't see me."

Another call. Another offer. 

"Hear me out," answered his agent at the first sound of protest. "I think you might want to take this one. It's only one day on set here in town, and you should like where it's going."

After he sent out the public announcement and the link, he sent out one more message.

_Not quite what I promised, but I hope it will do._

_END_

**The Debt**

"You know, for mob enforcers, you really are a jolly group of gentlemen. When you slipped that bag over my head and threw me in the back of that panel van I thought I was going to be in for a world of pain, but you have been delightful."

"Yun prides himself on his gentle touch," answered the leader.

"Names!" whispered the man behind him, which was promptly waved off. 

"Doesn't matter," was the reply. "The boss has a specific outcome for this."

"No witnesses? That's not how we usually do things. This is a keno debt, just money."

The leader turned to his captive, "Just a moment if you please."

"Not at all. Take your time."

The two stepped deeper into the shadows."Don't question my leadership in front of the guests. A healthy amount of fear keeps them alert, but too much and they will go to meetings and stop gambling. Where would our clients be then?"

"So sorry. Then why doesn't it matter if he hears our names?"

"The casino head is a fan. Loves _The Night Manager_. He's worked out a deal to pay off the debt. All he has to do is film a vitamin commercial for China."

"That makes sense. The real money isn't in organized crime, it's pharmaceuticals."

"So we keep him happy and deliver him to the set."

_END_

**The Hobby**

It had meant to be a lark. Each day off from filming, a group of them had ventured out into the surrounds to explore; bonus points to the most out-there, the most crazy, the biggest WTF they could find. Chicago had not disappointed so far. There were the easy to finds- the Picasso statue, the dinosaurs at the Field Museum, the turtle races at Big Joe's. So far, the frontrunner had been the Busy Beaver Button Museum, but someone there had mentioned a Toby Jug collection just out of town in Evanston. After such a long stretch away, he had felt a need to show the others a bit of home. 

The building's layout was enough to bring him back, a never-ending grandmother's lounge of lighted display cases with heavy wooden bases. One by one, each of them found a ceramic to make them stop, pull another over, and giggle. To keep the cheerful feeling going, he didn't hesitate to walk into the gift shop. Once there, he felt himself drawn to a figurine of Punch. The crescent nose and rouged cheeks reminding him, not necessarily of his youth- he never fell into that kind of nostalgia, but of a simpler time, the beginnings of performance and captivating a crowd. He unwrapped the mug back in his hotel room and placed it on the small desk by the window so that the light would catch the bright glaze and so his attention for the last days of the shoot. It was a tough, physical role and he found he needed a little extra motivation. Punch could take a hit with a smile and so would he.

He thought that was the end of it, not being much of a collector. The mug was resting on a shelf at home, but now he was in another location, in another impersonal space. One night he found himself pulling up eBay, just to see what was out there. Most of what was available was character jugs, not truly Toby Jugs with the full body sculpted. If he was going to find something else he wasn't going to settle for a mere face. There was a nobility in keeping this collection accurate. Buying any old piece of porcelain would make him no more than a hoarder and a glutton. Pieces with history and craftsmanship, well that was different. He scrolled through the options, knowing in his heart it was just a time filler and there were more intellectual options if he couldn't sleep, but the next page brought him an image he knew was meant for him alone.

The grinning face of Mephistopheles filled the square in the top listing. Yes, he was a heavy-handed metaphor for the compulsion he was feeling, but maybe confronting the absurdity of it all was just what he needed. He could already see it placed next to Punch on his shelf. _Just one bid_ , he told himself. There was only one other offer on it and the end was near. He'd take a chance and if it wasn't meant to be, then so be it.

Almost immediately, the bid count jumped by two and the current price increased. So the other bidder was watching as well. Good on him. It should have been the end, but his fingers hit the virtual keys on his phone screen and his next bid was entered. Again, it was countered. There was less than a minute left. He needed to let it go, but his conscience was bleached out in the light as his focus was on the time counting down and price rising up.

Before he knew it the next refresh brought about the end of the auction and the final total was well beyond anything he had splurged on with his set-aside "mad money." Alone in his dark hotel room, he felt the heat of embarrassment. How had he let it all get so out of hand? For a long minute he considered backing out of the auction, wondering if the seller would accept the final bid of his competitor instead, but the thought of breaking an agreement weighed heavier on him. He needed to fulfill his end of the deal and accept the consequences of his actions. That demon cast in porcelain would be a reminder to not let himself get carried away again.

With a heavy heart, he called up his agent. "Is there any offer open that could net us some quick cash?"

"What's happened? You're not caught up in anything illegal, are you?"

"No, just made a deal for the devil, that's all."

"Don't you mean with the devil?"

"Not this time."

_END_

**The Accidental Ad**

His stomach couldn't have sunk any lower. That combined with his heart currently caught in his throat, gave his internal biology a distinct alien feel that fit with the disorientation in his head. 

He remembered the day, of course he did. The end of a week he had been so careful to keep secret but she had ended up documenting all the same. Always that camera up against her face. It had made him so nervous at first. Had he made a wrong choice trusting her. Would any if this end up out in the world? No, she had assured him, only for me. And he had believed her. She had no need for money, so he had thought, and no wish for attention, he had been told. All it took was a moment of pride; a video sent to one person to retort a claim that her mysterious boyfriend was just using her, and here he was in a sterile conference room, watching himself with his agent, publicist, lawyer, and a spin doctor who billed herself rather as a strategist.

"Are there more?" the strategist asked.

"Most likely, but she's sworn she only shared the one video..."

"Doesn't matter," she continued. "There are more and I'm assuming they're not as tame and domestic as this one?"

"Actually, they probably are," he admitted. "The camera wasn't on all the time. I would have known."

"Would you?" asked his publicist. "I can tell by the look on your face you're not sure. It doesn't matter if you like it or not, we have to think worst-case scenario here. So far we're the only ones who have this footage and so we have to get in front of anything else that might come up. Luckily, Ms. Riley here has come up with a solution that I think will cover all the necessary bases."

"What might that be?" he asked, genuinely curious. It wasn't the content that bothered him. No one could be scandalized by him cooking breakfast, but the underlying breach of trust, the knowledge that his secret happiness was no longer a secret, the feeling that maybe he didn't deserve privacy, is what made him turn cold and exposed. They had spoken once after the "friend" had contacted an outlet with an offer to sell the video. She had been overwhelmed with shame, begging for forgiveness but nothing more. He had expected a little fight back, an assertion that she was not a dirty secret, and the finality of her words. It was the argument he had made, why not throw everything out in the open, but she had disagreed and weeks of unanswered calls made him realize that honesty he just might be announcing the existence of an already dead relationship.

"I've put a few discreet feelers out and your concern for your companion's nutritional welfare is just the ticket. Pfizer has agreed to pay a generous amount in order to use the video as nontraditional advertising. The price requested by the content holder and appropriate compensation to the copyright holder would be more than covered by the amount, leaving the rest for you. Once the video is shown to the world as simply a vitamin commercial, it would be hard to release further footage in that same vein as private unauthorized videos worthy of notice. if something less tame surfaces, we can play the deceptive editing card quite easily. Yes, we do end up paying this flimsy attempt at blackmail but we cut them off at the knees if they try this again."

"They?"

"Worst case scenario, remember? The one with the camera is always involved. In fact, she's already signed the release of copyright form." She tapped the folder lying on the table in front of her. "Would you like to see?"

"Not necessary," he replied. No point in being the only soldier on the battlefield. "Where do I need to sign?"

A fresh document was placed in front of him.

"Now all we need from you is to post it on your account. A hungry public will do the rest."

_END_

**The Escape**

"I need to get out of town," he whispered into the phone.

"How far out of town?"

"What do you have on the other side of the world?"

"What have you done?"

A voice pierced through the closed door. "Hey sweetie, you gonna be much longer? You'd think for a place as big as this you'd have another bathroom. My bladder is holding strong after all those drinks last night, but everything has its limits."

"Just one more moment," he called out, then lowered his voice again. "Anything at all? It doesn't even have to start soon, I could go over early and prepare."

"I'm not kidding," cried the voice again. "I'm this close to seeing if any of your neighbors are up and looking through their windows. I see a clear spot in the garden and I'm going to run for it."

"No need! Be right there!"

"Don't forget, you agreed to meet my parents for lunch and I need to call and see if my sister is coming because I can't wait to see the look on that bitch's face when we come strolling in."

"Vitamin ad in China?" offered his agent through the phone.

"Perfect. Book it and I'll call you from the airport."

_END_

**The Saw**

He raised his right hand to comb his hair back from his face and felt his left join in weak mimicry. Handcuffs. The floor beneath him was damp hard and cold- some sort of stone. He waited for his eyes to adjust to the dark and maybe give him some sense of dimension to this space. No light seemed to seep in from any crack, no high-set window, no far-off door. It was him and the stone.

_Ahh, now you're awake!_ came a voice from above him. He strained his neck to peer upwards but saw nothing.

"Who are you? What do you want?"

_You can call me the casting director. I have been trying to catch you for some time now. As for what I want, it's simple. I want to be entertained._

"This is your entertainment? It hardly seems like much of a show." He pulled at his restraints once more.

_No. This is merely our meet cute. What you agree to next is what I'm really after._

"And what would that be?"

_What you do best. A performance._

"Here? I doubt you'll get my best work."

_I doubt you could ever do less than your best. And not here. It's a legitimate job, union crew and everything. My skill comes in getting those who shine brightest to appear in unexpected situations. Have you ever wondered what compels certain respected actors to appear in productions not quite up to their caliber?_

"Beyond money, I would assume there could be any number of factors. Timing, location, the director, contractual obligations..."

_For the most part, it's me. Kenneth Branagh in Wild Wild West, Michael Sheen in Twilight, Christopher Eccleston in GI Joe, to name a few. The entire cast of The Chronicles of Riddick, ah that was my finest moment._

"So you keep them chained up here until they agree to these roles? Why don't they say something once they're set free?"

_Keep them? Oh, no! Can you imagine the upkeep? No, I threaten their friends and family. Much more compelling motivation. There is no dignity in standing up against that. They do what I say and the film landscape is a little less bleak._

He reached up to rub his nose. It was a no-win situation. His resume could take the hit. No one else deserved to suffer. 

"What do you want me to do?"

_How do you feel about vitamins?_

_END_

**The Power of Vitamins**

"Don't you think I've changed?" he asked, cheeks flushed and eyes bright. It could be fervor, it could be fever. Hard to tell with him.

"I have to admit, you do have even more of an air of vitality."

"It has to be the vitamins!"

Skepticism was hard to maintain in the glow of such a sincere face.

"Every study I've read from distinguished academic and medical institutions tells me that's not possible, that there are no discernible benefits from multi-vitamin use. Are you sure there isn't another answer?"

Those blue eyes focused in and the light remained undimmed. "I've been eating healthy and exercising for as long as I remember, but it wasn't until I added in the supplements that I felt a real difference. Who knows, it may be placebo, but there are no other factors I've changed to account for how I'm feeling."

"Nothing?"

No shift in gaze to our intertwined fingers, no tuning into what I was really asking. There's that decision made then.

"Nothing else makes sense. As a matter of fact, I've been in contact with a company to do some advertising."

"A testimonial?"

"No, nothing as direct as that, just a regular advert, but it's the best way to show that I am behind this a thousand percent. I'll be gone but not for long."

"You know best, sweetheart. Take your time. This is important to you."

_END, Centrum Capsules_


End file.
